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Hexels are now an officially licensed product of Catan and Mayfair Games!

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You can now order Booster-Packs to add extra Hexels to your reward level!

Here is how the Booster-Packs work:

Domestic backers - for every 10 extra Hexels you would like to receive on top of your reward level, just add$20 to your pledge. You can add as many Booster-Packs to your pledge as you like, and all reward levels from $28 and up qualify to order Booster-Packs.

International backers - for every 10 extra Hexels you would like to receive on top of your reward level, just add$25 to your pledge. You can add as many Booster-Packs to your pledge as you like, and all reward levels from $28 and up qualify to order Booster-Packs.

The slight increase in cost per Hexel for the booster packs as compared to the reward levels also covers the increased shipping costs as well as the extra man-hours required to offer this level of customization!

Designing the perfect modular game board for Catan has been a bit of an obsession of mine for over a year now. Throughout that time I have come up with many iterations that ranged from a large single board with indentations for the pieces to various versions of interlocking pieces and ultimately to the final design in its simplest form. What I like to call, a Hexel.

A Hexel is a single hexagonal piece to reflect the hexagons of the board which they were designed for that magnetically connects to each of its neighbors by allowing each magnet to freely orient itself in whatever direction creates the strongest bond. The result is a board that stays together when playing, allows complete modularity, can be used as a storage device, and it all fits into the original box your game of settlers came in.

Creating something that mostly worked would to be okay if it were only for myself, but since this was for you it had to be amazing! Here is the process that brought this humble idea to be something deserving of your attention.

The Evolution of The Hexel:

The very first design. Play the original Settlers and be able to easily pop out the pieces when you are done with little finger-holes

A whole board in one piece was too large to store conveniently, so it was broken up into three interlocking pieces

The three interlocking pieces placed near each other to show how it would create the board

The previous designs forced the board to be limited to a single layout. By splitting up the board into groups of three pieces it allowed for more modularity and could more easily fit in the original box

Groups of three placed next to each other to show how they would create an entire board. The board no longer had anything to hold it together well and couldn't quite make the original layout without lots of extra pieces

A single piece was designed to hold each hexagonal tile. This allowed a reduction in plastic of 35% compared to old models while also introducing the chambers for the self-orienting magnets

Hide the magnet chambers and increase the number of magnets to create a stronger hold (top view)

(bottom view of the four magnet chambers)

The previous versions still weren't good enough, so we upped our game. Six magnets! Also, reducing required plastic makes the part more eco-friendly while also making it easier to produce!

The first prototype from our manufacturers (bottom view).

Top view of the manufacturer's delivered prototype (top view). LIKE A GLOVE!

A whole board assembled using various prototypes including the completely modular harbor piece!

A close up on the pieces next to each other. The top two pieces are 3d printed and not quite as accurate as the bottom piece, but even so the pieces sit very snugly next to each other.

The Hold Test!

Risks and challenges

A major challenge we could run into that seemingly all Kickstarter projects encounter is fulfillment. It's something that I have been paying particular attention to while preparing for the project. Currently, using Amazon as a fulfillment center seems to be the best option. They have great customer service, a proven track record, and more resources available to them than either you or I could imagine.

If other issues arise I will approach them as I have for this entire project. Hobbling something together wont be good enough. Getting the right solution for the right situation is important. It sets the tone for future decisions and expectations and I am confident that when an issue arrises a great solution will not be far behind.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $150 or more
About $150

You are a Super Backer! You get 59 Hexels, which allows you to play the original Settlers 3-4 player game, Settlers 5-6 player, Seafarers 3-4 player, AND Seaferers 5-6 player. PLUS, you get one of the original 3D printed prototypes to help prove that you were an initial backer!